1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a floral easel for holding a floral object, and more particularly but not by way of limitation, to an erectable or collapsible floral easel for holding a floral object. In one aspect, the present invention relates to a floral easel for holding and/or supporting a floral object. In yet another aspect, the present invention relates to methods of shipping a floral easel, methods of using a floral easel, methods of storing a floral easel, and methods of placing a floral object on a floral easel.
2. Description of the Related Art
Easels have previously been used in industries such as, for example, art, photography, music, education, framing and the like to support and display designated items. These non-floral easels are expensive to fabricate and unsuitable for use as a floral easel. In the floral industry, floral easels are usually constructed of wood or non-wood materials, such as, for example, steel. Such floral easels are usually cumbersome and difficult to ship, transport, and store in that they do not have the ability to readily fold into a position that is compact and easily manageable. Typically, for example, at least two legs of current floral easels are in an open, fixed (erected) position making it impossible to fold the floral easel into a compact bundle for transportation. Currently, florists attach floral arrangements to wood or non-wood floral easels by affixing the floral arrangement to the two legs that are in the open, fixed (erect) position and transport the easels with only a third leg being collapsed. After a funeral visitation or service in the funeral home or chapel, the only collapsible leg of the current floral easel is collapsed while the other legs remain in the open and erect position. The easel is then transported to the cemetery where the collapsible leg is again erected, usually with the legs pressed several inches into the soil for anchoring purposes. The display is used again during a grave side service or as a decoration at the grave site after the service. These non-wood floral easels are frequently transported to various ceremonies and discarded after the ceremony. The transportability of current non-wood floral easels is therefore not maximized because of the bulky nature of these easels, and recylability of current non-wood floral easels is poor due to the bulky nature of current non-wood floral easels.
Further, shipping and/or freight costs currently reflect the cumbrous nature of shipping current non-wood floral easels. For example, depending on the freight zone, freight costs may range from 9.26% to 36.14% of the total manufacturing costs. This is because current non-wood floral easels are produced in a factory and shipped to a designated location with two of the three legs fixed in the erected position with only one of the legs being collapsible. Shipping these types of floral easels is costly due to the large amount of space the current floral easel requires because of its inability to fully collapse into a bundle. A floral easel that is fully or partially collapsible would dramatically decrease shipping costs; for example, fully or partially collapsible non-wood floral easels may reduce freight costs by up to 75% when compared to the freight costs of current non-wood floral easels.
Warehousing space must also be maximized to accommodate storage of such floral easels. For example, when arriving at a distributorship or flower shop, current non-wood floral easels require the manufacturer, distributor or florist to provide an excessive and unnecessary amount of storage space for the easel which is attributed to the inability of the floral easel to fully collapse. Also, the reuse of current non-wood floral easels by florists is poor or even non-existent due to the extreme difficulty of packing and transporting the easels.
Current wood floral easels are typically bulkier than non-wood floral easels and require more space even when the current wood floral easel is in a partially collapsed or fully collapsed position. Furthermore, wood is a scarce natural resource and alternative materials are more readily available for the construction of floral easels. Current wood floral easels are subject to warping upon continued use, especially when storing. These easels must be stored in a careful manner, avoiding exposure to certain conditions and must be disposed in a flat plane because of a tendency to conform to a non-linear plane. Current wood floral easels are also subject to insect infestation which requires irradiation when importing (or otherwise be subject to recall), and subject to splintering making the current wood floral easel difficult to transport in commerce as well as difficult to use and re-use. The wood of current wood floral easels must also be treated to provide the desired surface conditions (i.e., for sanding or painting) making the material prohibitively expensive when compared to other non-wood materials from which the floral easel could be constructed. Current wood floral easels also require assembly as well as articulation among the legs.
It is to this end that there is a need in the industry for a fully or partially erectable or collapsible floral easel that overcomes the disadvantages and defects of current floral easels and that is compact, easily transportable, less expensive to ship and store, and is fully reusable. It is to such a floral easel that the present invention is directed.